An ingrown or ingrowing toenail is a painful condition (onychocryptosis) where the toenail grows into the skin at the side of the toe. The big toe is the most commonly affected, but any toe can develop an ingrown toenail. Ingrown toenails are mostly caused by incorrect nail cutting or picking the nail, which leaves a spike at the side, ill-fitting or tight shoes, trimming toenails at an angle (toenails should always be cut straight across) and fungal nail infections. An ingrown toenail will make the toe red, swollen and warm to touch. As it becomes more advanced it may become infected.  The first thing to do is to bathe it in salt water.  This will reduce the infection and swelling and make it much more comfortable.

Treatments will depend on how severe the problem is.  If the nail has just broken the skin a little, then often we will be able to use some nippers to remove the spike and if the nail is cut correctly from then on, it shouldn’t cause any further problems. Sometimes however, due to the shape of the nail, it will always grow back into the skin.

If the nail is too painful or deep to remove using nippers then nail surgery is an option.  The surgical procedure carried out is called a partial or total nail avulsion, depending how much of the nail is removed. The affected toe will be injected with local anaesthetic and once the nail or section of nail is removed painlessly, a chemical called phenol is applied to the area where the nail grows, which stops it from growing back.

A dressing is applied and it is changed after a couple of days to a less bulky dressing.  It normally takes around 3 to 6 weeks for the toe to fully heal. At Southfields Footcare we pride ourselves with around a 97% SUCCESS Rate with this procedure.

To prevent an ingrown toe nail, you should not pick at your toe nails and it is important to cut the nails straight across and do not cut down the sides. If you are unsure then you should seek advice as nail shapes can differ from person to person.